Complete Genome Sequence of Sulfurospirillum sp. Strain ACSDCE, an Anaerobic Bacterium That Respires Tetrachloroethene under Acidic pH Conditions

ABSTRACT Sulfurospirillum sp. strain ACSDCE couples growth with reductive dechlorination of tetrachloroethene to cis-1,2-dichloroethene at pH values as low as 5.5. The genome sequence of strain ACSDCE consists of a circular 2,737,849-bp chromosome and a 39,868-bp plasmid and carries 2,737 protein-coding sequences, including two reductive dehalogenase genes.

Genome Sequence of “Candidatus Dehalogenimonas etheniformans” Strain GP, a Vinyl Chloride-Respiring Anaerobe

ABSTRACT “Candidatus Dehalogenimonas etheniformans” strain GP couples growth with the reductive dechlorination of vinyl chloride and several polychlorinated ethenes. The genome sequence comprises a circular 2.07-Mb chromosome with a G+C content of 51.9% and harbors 50 putative reductive dehalogenase genes.

Insights into origins and function of the unexplored majority of the reductive dehalogenase gene family as a result of genome assembly and ortholog group classification

Classifying all reductive dehalogenase genes from organohalide respiring bacteria, including nine newly closed genomes, predicts function and conserved synteny within species.

Complete Genome Sequence of Dehalococcoides mccartyi Strain FL2, a Trichloroethene-Respiring Anaerobe Isolated from Pristine Freshwater Sediment

Dehalococcoides mccartyi strain FL2 couples growth to hydrogen oxidation and reductive dechlorination of trichloroethene and cis- and trans-1,2-dichloroethenes. Strain FL2 has a 1.42-Mb genome with a G+C content of 47.0% and carries 1,465 protein-coding sequences, including 24 reductive dehalogenase genes.

Genome-Guided Identification of Organohalide-RespiringDeltaproteobacteriafrom the Marine Environment

ABSTRACTOrganohalide compounds are widespread in the environment as a result of both anthropogenic activities and natural production. The marine environment, in particular, is a major reservoir of organohalides, and reductive dehalogenation is thought to be an important process in the overall cycling of these compounds.Deltaproteobacteriaare important members of the marine microbiota with diverse metabolic capacities, and reductive dehalogenation has been observed in someDeltaproteobacteria. In this study, a comprehensive survey ofDeltaproteobacteriagenomes revealed that approximately 10% contain reductive dehalogenase (RDase) genes, which are found within a common gene neighborhood. The dehalogenating potential of select RDase A-containingDeltaproteobacteriaand their gene expression were experimentally verified. ThreeDeltaproteobacteriastrains isolated from marine environments representing diverse species,Halodesulfovibrio marinisediminis,Desulfuromusa kysingii, andDesulfovibrio bizertensis, were shown to reductively dehalogenate bromophenols and utilize them as terminal electron acceptors in organohalide respiration. Their debrominating activity was not inhibited by sulfate or elemental sulfur, and these species are either sulfate- or sulfur-reducing bacteria. The analysis of RDase A gene transcripts indicated significant upregulation induced by 2,6-dibromophenol. This study extends our knowledge of the phylogenetic diversity of organohalide-respiring bacteria and their functional RDase A gene diversity. The identification of reductive dehalogenase genes in diverseDeltaproteobacteriaand confirmation of their organohalide-respiring capability suggest thatDeltaproteobacteriaplay an important role in natural organohalide cycling.IMPORTANCEThe marine environment is a major reservoir for both anthropogenic and natural organohalides, and reductive dehalogenation is thought to be an important process in the overall cycling of these compounds. Here we demonstrate that the capacity of organohalide respiration appears to be widely distributed in members of marineDeltaproteobacteria. The identification of reductive dehalogenase genes in diverseDeltaproteobacteriaand the confirmation of their dehalogenating activity through functional assays and transcript analysis in select isolates extend our knowledge of organohalide-respiringDeltaproteobacteriadiversity. The presence of functional reductive dehalogenase genes in diverseDeltaproteobacteriaimplies that they may play an important role in organohalide respiration in the environment.

Eight new genomes of organohalide-respiring Dehalococcoides mccartyi reveal evolutionary trends in reductive dehalogenase enzymes

ABSTRACTBackgroundBioaugmentation is now a well-established approach for attenuating toxic groundwater and soil contaminants, particularly for chlorinated ethenes and ethanes. The KB-1 and WBC-2 consortia are cultures used for this purpose. These consortia contain organisms belonging to the Dehalococcoidia, including strains of Dehalococcoides mccartyi in KB-1 and of both D. mccartyi and Dehalogenimonas in WBC-2. These tiny anaerobic bacteria couple respiratory reductive dechlorination to growth and harbour multiple reductive dehalogenase genes (rdhA) in their genomes, the majority of which have yet to be characterized.ResultsUsing a combination of Illumina mate-pair and paired-end sequencing we closed the genomes of eight new strains of Dehalococcoides mccartyi found in three related KB-1 sub-cultures that were enriched on trichloroethene (TCE), 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCA) and vinyl chloride (VC), bringing the total number of genomes available in NCBI to 24. A pangenome analysis was conducted on 24 Dehalococcoides genomes and five Dehalogenimonas genomes (2 in draft) currently available in NCBI. This Dehalococcoidia pangenome generated 2875 protein families comprising of 623 core, 2203 accessory, and 49 unique protein families. In Dehalococcoides mccartyi the complement of reductive dehalogenase genes varies by strain, but what was most surprising was how the majority of rdhA sequences actually exhibit a remarkable degree of synteny across all D. mccartyi genomes. Several homologous sequences are also shared with Dehalogenimonas genomes. Nucleotide and predicted protein sequences for all reductive dehalogenases were aligned to begin to decode the evolutionary history of reductive dehalogenases in the Dehalococcoidia.ConclusionsThe conserved synteny of the rdhA genes observed across Dehalococcoides genomes indicates that the major differences between strain rdhA gene complement has resulted from gene loss rather than recombination. These rdhA have a long evolutionary history and trace their origin in the Dehalococcoidia prior to the speciation of Dehalococcoides and Dehalogenimonas. The only rdhA genes suspected to have been acquired by lateral gene transfer are protein-coding rdhA that have been identified to catalyze dehalogenation of industrial pollutants. Sequence analysis suggests that evolutionary pressures resulting in new rdhA genes involve adaptation of existing dehalogenases to new substrates, mobilization of rdhA between genomes or within a genome, and to a lesser degree manipulation of regulatory regions to alter expression.